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Special Offers

Circular Aperture

When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a result.

ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass

As focal lengths get longer, lenses built with conventional optical glass have difficulties with chromatic aberration, and as a result images suffer from lower contrast, lower color quality, and lower resolution. ED glass dramatically reduces chromatic aberration at telephoto ranges, and provides superior contrast across the entire image, even at large aperture settings. Super ED glass provides enhanced compensation for chromatic aberration.

Distance encoder

The distance encoder plays an integral part in ADI flash metering, which delivers high precision flash metering that is unaffected by the reflectance of subjects or backgrounds. The distance encoder is a lens component that directly detects the position of the focusing mechanism, and sends a signal to the CPU in order to measure distance to the subject. During flash photography, this data is very useful in calculating how much flash output is appropriate to the scene.

SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor)

Rather than using the focus drive motor in the camera body, SAM lenses feature an autofocus motor built into to the lens itself that directly drives the focusing element group. Since the built-in motor directly rotates the focus mechanism, operation is significantly smoother and quieter than conventional coupled autofocus drive systems.

Features

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Circular Aperture

When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a result.

:

ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass

As focal lengths get longer, lenses built with conventional optical glass have difficulties with chromatic aberration, and as a result images suffer from lower contrast, lower color quality, and lower resolution. ED glass dramatically reduces chromatic aberration at telephoto ranges, and provides superior contrast across the entire image, even at large aperture settings. Super ED glass provides enhanced compensation for chromatic aberration.

:

SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor)

Rather than using the focus drive motor in the camera body, SAM lenses feature an autofocus motor built into to the lens itself that directly drives the focusing element group. Since the built-in motor directly rotates the focus mechanism, operation is significantly smoother and quieter than conventional coupled autofocus drive systems.

:

Distance encoder

The distance encoder plays an integral part in ADI flash metering, which delivers high precision flash metering that is unaffected by the reflectance of subjects or backgrounds. The distance encoder is a lens component that directly detects the position of the focusing mechanism, and sends a signal to the CPU in order to measure distance to the subject. During flash photography, this data is very useful in calculating how much flash output is appropriate to the scene.

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Multi-Element Design

The SAL-55300 is designed with 12 lens elements in 9 groups, with precision focusing performance and smooth zoom operation.

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ED (Extra-low Dispersion) Glass

Because light of different wavelength (or color) bends at different angles when it passes through a lens, ED (Extra-low Dispersion) Glass is used to eliminate chromatic aberration by correcting certain wavelengths of light for sharp, clear images with well defined colors.

Sony α (alpha) lenses with the Digital Technology (DT) designation are ideal for use on APS-C size DSLR cameras and are not recommended for use with full frame DSLR camera bodies (such as the DSLR-A900). Although DT lenses can be used with full frame cameras, they can only realize a maximum of 11MP image size (when using the DSLR-A900), and are not guaranteed to provide accurate Auto Exposure performance.

Weights and Measurements

Dimensions (Approx.) : 3 1/8 x 4 5/8" (77 x 116.5 mm)

Weight (Approx.) : 1 lb. 3 oz. (460g)

Rated 4 out of 5 by 7
reviewers.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Arminkh I love this lens
This is a great lens for outdoors. I'm not a professional but the image quality is clearly superior to my 18-55 lens that came with my A35.
This lens is very fast and a great tool for capturing wild life. I took this photo with my A35 using this lens
May 6, 2013

Rated 2 out of 5 by cekay1 Money better spent elsewhere
This lens is cheap and feels and performs like one too. When focus is achieved it is sharp and images are good. However, it is slow to focus and noisy, performance in poor light is terrible - Sony sell this as a SAM lens - it does not perform like one - I really don't know what other peoples expectations are. I bought a Minolta lens a few days before - 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 - the performance in a totally different league - fast, near silent auto-focus, amazing image quality - the lens was approx 20 years old and was not a "G" lens. If you can get this Sony lens cheaply, then it is worth consideration, otherwise save your money for a better option.
I do wish Sony would improve this lens - and look at at their whole lens line-up and take note what their competitors are doing. I do not wish to be negative, but this is my experience with this lens - and I have used a lot of equipment.
July 20, 2013

Rated 4 out of 5 by Mark1328 Good Lens But Not GREAT
First I am hardly an expert right now but more a "prosumer" this lens for the price is a great deal. The pictures are sharp and clear and the 55-300mm gives great options with 1 lens. My only complaint is the "hunting" when using AF in anything past 200mm. So if I know shooting far away I immediately switch to MF since most likely lens will "hunt" for something to focus on and second you get what you want it hunts to something again. Even for the picture for this review I was in full auto and tried AF but had trouble staying on the bird house with nothing around it so ended up in manual. But for the price I am not going to complain about this lens.
May 8, 2013

Rated 4 out of 5 by roymondus Big fan
Excellent image quality, which is the most important to me - great sharpness. I haven't experienced any frustration with the autofocus, though I can see it isn't the quickest. Overall, I'm very pleased with this lens and for the price, would heartily recommend it for the fantastic telephoto range, compact size, and IQ.
October 18, 2013

Rated 4 out of 5 by PittsfieldDoug DT 55-300mm F4.5-5.6 SAM Zoom Lens
I would not recommend this to a 'beginner' .. however a Photog on a budget would find it useful and satisfying.
..Cons: 1. Front lens turns while focusing, not useful for filters.
2. Hunts a LOT particularly in low light.
3. No 'instant tuning' .. Easy 'focus peaking' would help a lot.
4. 'Barrel Lock' only works in fully retracted position.
5. No 'Macro capability'
..Pros: 1. Picture Quality is excellent (for price point)
2. Easy to use in 'Manual Focus' Mode .. has on lens MF/AF switch sufficient damping for quick positive focus. Generally Speaking I've been able to improve most shots by manual tuning.
3. Has 'Lock' to prevent lens creep while carrying.
4. Metal Mount, solid and secure.
5. Very LOW CA in high contrast situations really amazing at this price point.
6. Good PQ across the range.
7. 55-300mm range .. Decent close focus (4-5') throughout the focal length range.
8. Nice looking, great feel and handling is very good.
9. Superb Lens Hood.
10. Very hard to beat at this Price point .. A shooter who knows his or her camera will benefit more than a total newbie.
April 17, 2015